


Among the Stars

by infizero



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, gerald is not a great dad but he's trying his best, if you ship shadow & maria go away this isn't for you, shadow knows Nothing, shadow's experimentation is discussed, so if that makes you uncomfortable maybe don't read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-06-30 07:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19848385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infizero/pseuds/infizero
Summary: A collection of moments upon the ARK.These won't be in chronological order. Irregular updates. Sorry for any inconvenience.





	1. Purpose

**Author's Note:**

> Shadow learns why he was created.

Shadow looked out the window, curious about what Maria was looking at. On the other side of the glass there was a giant blue sphere that seemed to glow in the dark void that surrounded it. 

“What’s that?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.

“That’s the Earth silly!” Maria chuckled, glancing down at him. “It’s our planet.”

“Planet?” Shadow repeated questioningly. The word was unfamiliar to him.

“It’s like the ARK, but  _ way  _ bigger and made of dirt and stuff!” Maria explained. “It’s where humans are from. Everyone here used to live there. Except you and me.”

“But I thought you were a human.” Shadow said, confused.

“I am!” Maria smiled. “But I was born here.”

“Oh.” Shadow said, turning back to the planet. “So you’ve never been to Earth?”

“No… I always wonder what it’s like down there.” Maria said, her eyes locked on the blue dot, her small hands pressed up against the glass window that sealed them away from the void of space. “My grandpa’s shown me pictures of the people who live there. But I don’t want to just see them. I want to meet them. I want to talk to them. I want…”

She trailed off, her fingertips slipping from the glass. She looked sad, but then suddenly she turned back to Shadow, smiling. “Well, maybe you’ll help me go down there, and we can explore Earth together!”

Shadow nodded, even though he wasn’t quite sure what she meant. _Maria is strange._ he thought. _But it seems like everyone here is._ _She's so thin, and sometimes she seems so sad… I wonder if the Professor knows why?_

* * *

“Professor?” Shadow tugged at the old man’s lab coat.

The Professor looked down and caught sight of the black biohog. “Oh, hello Shadow. Do you need something?”

“Why is Maria so sad?” Shadow asked.

The Professor’s face fell. He buried his face in his hands and let out a deep breath. Shadow looked on concernedly. When he finally re-emerged, he put his hand on Shadow’s shoulder.

“Shadow, you know that you were created by me and the other scientists, right?” the Professor asked.

Shadow nodded. He had told him that as soon as he had woken up.

“Do you know  _ why _ you were created?”

Shadow paused and thought about it long and hard. He assumed the Professor had just wanted another "kid", but now he wasn’t sure. After a moment he shook his head.

“Maria has… an illness. Do you what that means?”

“No.” Shadow said. He was learning a lot of new words today.

“Well, it’s a… malfunction in her system, basically. It’s called Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and eventually, it…” the Professor’s voice wavered. “...it will kill her. Do you know what  _ that  _ means?”

“Yes.” Shadow said quietly.

“You were made to help us find a way to cure Maria. So she won’t die.” said the Professor, his voice still a bit shaky. “We have waited a few days to make sure that you yourself survive, but now… we must start experimenting. Testing.”

He gripped Shadow’s shoulders tighter and looked him in the eyes. “Shadow, I am not going to lie to you. These experiments will hurt. A lot.” 

Shadow shivered at the word ‘hurt’. He knew what that meant. That was what it had felt like when the wires had been stuck in him. 

“But if Maria is to survive, they are necessary. Do you understand?”

Shadow looked up at him. He thought about Maria's smiling face, disappearing forever. He nodded solemnly. "I understand."


	2. Bath Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow gets a bath.

“Bath time!” sung Maria joyfully. At the mere mention of the word Shadow’s fur prickled up and he dashed away as quick as he could, but he only ended up running right into her. Before he could escape again she grabbed him and picked him up, walking to her room.

“Oh come on Shadow, it’s really not that bad.” Maria teased as the black biohog squirmed in a feeble attempt to get away. “And besides, you stink.”

“It is that bad!” Shadow protested, alarmed at the fact that they were now almost in the bathroom. “Put me down~!”

“Nope, sorry!” Maria said, her cheerful tone masking her firm insistence. Before Shadow could whine any more, she dropped him into the bathtub and locked the bathroom door. He landed in the water with an awful splash, his back fur prickling up like he was a cat. 

“I hate you.” Shadow grumbled, crossing his arms as he sat in the tub reluctantly.

“That’s not true…” Maria said, laughing as she started to scrub him with soap.

They both knew it wasn’t - after a moment Shadow dropped his angry demeanor and chuckled a little bit. 

“Of course it’s not.” Shadow said. “I still don’t like bathes though.”

“Well, me and my father and I’m  _ sure _ the scientists don’t like you smelling like a dirty animal.”

“I  _ am _ a dirty animal.” Shadow pointed out.   
  
“Not for long!” Maria reminded. “Soon you’ll be a very clean, very nice-smelling animal.”

She continued to wash him, getting his arms and legs and all his quills. When she got to his right side however he jolted a bit and instinctively shoved her hand away. Maria startled, unsure of why he had just done that, until her eyes caught sight of a long thin line on his side where the fur was missing and there was a clear, fresh scar. Her face fell.

“They’ve been cutting you up again, haven’t they?” Maria asked quietly, her eyes locked on the scar.

Shadow was silent. After a moment, his hand gravitated towards his side, like he was feeling something that wasn’t there. Finally he said lowly, “Yes.”

“Shadow, tell me, did they put you under?” she asked, serious. 

“No.” he mumbled, not facing her.

“Shadow, I told you, you have to tell me when these things happen! My father is the head of this whole project, I can influence him to help you.” Maria said, placing her hand on his. “Why didn’t they give you anesthesia?”

“It interferes with their data. I have to be conscious so they can better study the effects.” Shadow said quietly. “It’s fine Maria. It’s for you.”

“I don’t want you to suffer just so I can live!” Maria shouted, frowning. “They can figure out some other way to get their data.”

Shadow didn’t say anything, and they sat in silence. Maria felt defeated. This had happened far too often. Everyday it seemed like she found some new scar on Shadow that he didn't want to talk about. She knew that his experimentation was vital for curing her N.I.D.S, but she hated to see him so… broken. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Shadow said, “I’m not getting any cleaner in here.”

Maria let out a hollow laugh and went back to scrubbing him in silence, carefully avoiding the scar. After she was done, she sprayed him off, washing all the soap bubbles off. He sputtered and complained, and when he stepped out of the bathtub he was completely soaked. 

“I feel at least 3 pounds heavier.” he said, crossing his arms.

“Move your arms, I have to dry you off.”

Shadow reluctantly removed his arms from blocking his chest, and stood still as Maria blew hot air from the blow dryer all over him. By the time he was completely dry his fur was blown in all directions, making him puff up like a black cotton ball.

“I look ridiculous.” he pouted.

“Good. That means I get to-”

“-oh no-”

“-brush you!” Maria said, absolutely delighted. As she rummaged through the cabinet, Shadow made a desperate attempt to open the door, but the ARK’s doors were specially made with higher doorknobs so Shadow couldn’t reach them and wander around by himself. He grumbled and succumbed to his fate. Maria hummed as she retrieved the brush from the cabinet and sauntered over to him, a grin on her face.

"I can do this myself you know." Shadow reminded.

"Yes, but your tongue doesn't do as good of a job as my brush!" Maria countered, beginning to gently stroke his quills with the aforementioned object. "Besides, you'd be all sticky, and you  _ just  _ had a bath."

Shadow grumbled again but stayed silent as she brushed him. After she was done, she squealed and turned him around so he can see himself in the mirror. He actually did look much nicer, now that his fur wasn't all greasy and clumped together.

"Thank you Maria."

"It's no problem, Shadow!" Maria held the door open for him. As he walked out, she said softer, "I want you to be happy."

Shadow felt his chest tighten up as he remembered her previous words. 

_ I don't want you to suffer just so I can live! _

He shook his head and smiled at her, determined to not let her know what they were doing to him. 

It was all for her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the sad ending :')))
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	3. Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow didn't know there was more to music than singing.

"C'mon Shadow, dance with me!"

Shadow looked at Maria in confusion. "Dance?"

"Y'know, move your body! To the music!" Maria said, swaying her hips and moving her arms all around.

Shadow knew what music was. Maria played it all the time. She often would sing along, but he had never seen her do anything like this before. 

"Why?" Shadow asked, eyeing the strange way she was moving her feet. 

"Oh Shadow, does everything have to be business with you?" Maria pouted for a moment before laughing. "There's no reason! It's just fun! You know, like singing or drawing. You just do it to feel good."

Shadow nodded, even though he still felt slightly lost. "Well. Then have fun."

"No, c'mon! Dance with me!" Maria said, grabbing his arm. He shrugged her off.

"No thank you."

Maria sighed overdramatically and turned around. "Fine. Then I guess you can just watch me dance by myself."

Shadow did just that. It seemed random at first, but gradually he noticed the way that her movements seemed to match the beat of the song, and felt himself slowly be enraptured by this… "dance".

"Can you… teach me how to do that?" he said meekly.

Maria's face lit up.

* * *

"Shadow, you're a natural!" Maria laughed.

"Really? I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing." Shadow said as he did his best to follow Maria. He kept tripping over his (and her) feet, but it seemed like Maria wasn't that focused on how well he was doing - it was sort of relieving. He was so used to the scientists observing his every move, testing him on everything he did - it was sort of nice to be able to mess up with no consequences for once.

Maria let go of his hand and spun around and around, her dress flying up and spinning around her like a saucer. Shadow watched in awe as she lifted one foot up and twirled her arms around as she kept rotating. She didn't stop until the song was over.

"What was that!?" Shadow asked as she came to a halt. He had never seen anything like it - it was so graceful and delicate, unlike even the dance moves that she had just taught him.

"It's ballet!" Maria said, blinking at him with happy eyes. "It's a type of dancing. I could teach you that too if you want!"

Shadow's eyes widened and he nodded enthusiastically. He wasn't the biggest fan of the ballroom dancing, but this looked…. "fun".

Maria shifted so that she was facing him and began to talk him through a few of the moves that she had just done. Shadow watched and listened intently, doing his best to copy her motions. It took a bit, but he started to get pretty good. Maria looked impressed.

"You're a natural at this!" she said, surprised. "And I mean it this time!"

Shadow snorted. "You didn't mean it before?"

Maria looked guilty, like she hadn't meant to let that slip. "I may have… slightly exaggerated."

Shadow just laughed. "It's fine. I didn't think so either."

She chuckled before resuming her pose. Shadow followed suit. They danced for a bit longer before abruptly the music cut off. Maria stopped and turned to the record player.

Professor Gerald was stood by the device, looking angry. Shadow's face fell.

" _This_ is where you've been Shadow?" he said, exasperated.

"I-"

"You are supposed to be in the lab. Not… dancing around with Maria!" the Professor chastised. His eyes softened as he turned to his granddaughter. "Maria, I've told you this before - lab time comes before play."

Maria frowned and lowered her head ashamedly. "Sorry…" she mumbled.

Gerald huffed before turning back to Shadow. He grabbed the biohog's arm and said quietly, "Come now Shadow. There's work to do."

Shadow didn't want to "work". He knew what that really meant - experimentation. He didn't want to be tested on. He wanted to keep dancing with Maria.

But if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to do anything with Maria ever again.

He sighed and nodded, letting the Professor pull him back to the lab. The time for fun was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me writing the end of these chapters: what if it was angst?

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
